Romans 4:1-25

 Romans 4:1-25

There are two approaches to life and faith regardless of our perspective or position. Either it is by faith or by works. Both of these words are so widely used, or misused, that we must be careful not to mislead ourselves as we attempt to say the right thing. Weaknesses aside, there are only two approaches for every religion, faith system, or person. The most common approach is works or earning our standing. This is the idea behind all religions or worldviews that say you must “do good” to be “right.”. Whether it is expressed in karma, the five pillars of Islam, secular materialism, or some other worldview, in this approach there is the idea of trusting in what you have done to make you right. The other possibility is faith, trusting in God. Rather than confidence in our deeds making us good, we place our trust in God, making us good.

In the Jewish mind, the greatest man to ever live was Abraham. So Paul uses Abraham to be the ultimate example. He shows that Abraham was right before God because of his faith and not because of what he had done to earn that place. Paul refers to the moment in which something happened with Abraham. It wasn’t when Abraham left Ur. It wasn’t when he was prepared to kill Isaac as a sacrifice. It wasn’t when he accepted circumcision. It was in many ways a quiet moment of heart change that outwardly was unremarkable. Abraham had just won a military victory and was apparently living a quiet life. God comes to Abram and promises him a great reward. Abram points out that without an heir, any reward would be pointless. Then God took Abram outside and pointed to the stars as an example of how many heirs he would have. At this point, Abram believed that God‘s promise was the truth. Paul makes the point that as Abram believed God, then God counted that belief as righteousness. Abram entered into a special and unique relationship with God. It was a new and different way of relating.

That is not to say Abrams suddenly stopped being obedient to God. In fact, the greatest challenges of Abraham‘s life were still ahead. But these acts of obedience were the result of, or were growing out of, the new relationship with God. These actions were not the source of the new relationship. If there were ever someone who might make a claim of righteousness based on works, it would have been Abraham. But even the great Abraham had nothing to boast about in regard to works. He was right because of his trust in God and not his deeds.

“Lord, help me to spend my life trusting You. AMEN”